Hull City manager Phil Brown to offer Mark Viduka swift return to Premier League

24 July 2009 10:14
The Australian forward has been giving consideration to hanging up his boots for good this summer but Brown believes his experience and talent, despite concerns over fitness, would be of huge benefit to his squad. The 33-year-old is likely to be offered a pay-as-you-play arrangement which would insure Hull against liability for his wages should he spend most of the next season, as he did the last, in the treatment room. Brown is in talks with the former Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Celtic striker as he tries to convince Viduka to play on, according to a report in the Sun. The Hull manager has grown frustrated in his search for a fresh forward with Premier League experience and has only turned to Viduka after failing to land a series of high profile figures. Michael Owen, Fraizer Campbell, Marc-Antoine Fortune and Daryl Murphy have all elected to go elsewhere despite overtures from Hull. Meanwhile, Brown has also been warned not to expect to be able to sign Cardiff City midfielder Joe Ledley on the cheap. The club tabled a £4 million offer for the highly regarded Welsh international, 22, after attending Cardiff’s first match at the new 27,000 all-seater Cardiff City Stadium against Celtic. Brown is also interested in Ledley’s team-mate Ross McCormack but refuses to meet Cardiff’s asking price of £10 million. Cardiff manager Dave Jones said: “I saw Phil Brown at our game against Celtic, but I have no problem with that because he knows the price we are asking for Joe. “And my chairman has already made it perfectly clear – if the price is right then Joe will go.”

Source: Telegraph